


Ration Bars

by Nny11



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Baal is best Baby Sister, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Tales From Beast Island Spin Off, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 07:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21442648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nny11/pseuds/Nny11
Summary: Everyone comes together to make Catra her (mistakenly identified) favorite food: Gray Ration Bars.
Relationships: Catra & Family, Catra & Happiness
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	Ration Bars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TypoShifter (Weezelness)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weezelness/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Tales From Beast Island](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18762763) by [TypoShifter (Weezelness)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weezelness/pseuds/TypoShifter). 

> Look, Baal showed up and was a cinnamon roll, I wasn't NOT gonna let her do her very best okay?
> 
> Based on the fantastic fic "Tales From Beast Island", please go check that out if you haven't already! It's canon through Season 2 and Catra gets a family and starts to get some goodness in life. Plus, it has Force Captain Adora. You read that right, canon compliant with FC Adora. You know you want to find out what happened!

It started off simple enough, as so many difficult things do.

“Nah, not like we had meat and stuff.” Catra said with a shrug, slurping obnoxiously loudly on a piece of jerky she’d had between cheek and gum for at least thirty minutes.

Baal’s nose scrunched, ears pinning flat at the disgusting display before she actually processed the answer to her question. “...so you were vegetarian? That doesn’t make sense.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “You say that like I know what it is.”

“You ate vegetables and fruits?”

“Are those,” Catra paused before continuing, “like the berries and green sheet things? Nah! The Horde is all about efficiency so nutrient ration bars it was.”

This time Catra seemed content to let the silence stick between them, only slurping on her jerky or laughing when Baal struggled over any particularly large fallen trees and in one case a large boulder.

That was fine, really. Baal was pretty busy trying to puzzle out what in the world a nutrient ration bar was if not meat, fruit, or vegetable based.

“Okay, just ask before you break something. I will not be responsible for you get brain dabblage because you had thought constipation Squirt, get some brain diarrhea would you?.”

“Gross!” Baal laughed, bouncing foot to foot before asking, “What are rations?”

“What?”   


“What are-”

“No, I heard you. I just…” Catra grumbled to herself, rolling her eyes before moving her hands to show their size. Her tail starting to swish back and forth with irritation. “Nutrient ration bars. About this big. Bar shaped. Full of nutrients to keep soldiers at peak performance but never enough to feel full.”

“And...you liked them?” Baal found herself temporarily losing the conversation as she watched Catra’s tail twitch back and forth. Her eyes got wide as she wiggled before pulling herself back together.

“-so I mean, there’s that. Whatever. Pfft. Gray rations are the best. Ugh!” All of the less than subtle hints of sarcasm in that statement flying right over Baal’s head as she tried to picture it and was immediately distracted by Catra practicing her singing as punishment for ignoring her.

At the time she hadn’t thought much more about it. Rations sounded kind of gross and kind of made up, and Baal would much rather pester Catra about stories that were cool. Like the ones with explosions, and fire, and fights! So the ration bars were forgotten.

Until they weren’t.

“I just think she seems down.” Pantina sighed, one hand cradling her chin as she looked out to the tree where Catra had been sulking the better part of the day. For the third day in a row.

Coons chuckled, tongue slightly sticking out between his teeth as he concentrated on layering the apples into the pie shell. “When is she not moping around? Horde soldier or not, no one can say she isn’t a moody teen.”

Pantina’s dry glare was either ignored or missed. “I’m just saying it might be good for her if we did something nice. She might just be...I don’t know, homesick?”

Coons hummed, pausing to glance out the window with a grimace before returning to his task. “Despite the attitude, she was military. Kid probably doesn’t know what to do with all the changes. Free time, no schedule, food-”

“Rations!” Baal squeaked, groaning as her claws ripped the pie crust in her excitement. “Shoot.”

Coons happily began to gently mock her, “Oooooo, someone didn’t pay attentioooooooon!”

Pantina picked up one of the wooden spoons they’d used to mix the dough and tapped the top of his head, giggling along with her daughter when the sticky dough left his hair a mess. Coons frowned, eyes almost crossed as if he could see his fashionable cow lick, only grinning when he succeeded in getting a few more giggles out of Baal.

“You were saying,” he prompts and snickers when Baal calms enough.

“We were talking and she said she really missed gray ration nutrient bars. Maybe we could make her some of those since she likes food so much.” When the adults both looked at one another with skeptical looks Baal couldn’t help but shrink. Hands already wringing at her tail before remembering they were covered in flour and dough. “ ‘m not lying.”

“Oh sweetheart, we didn’t think that.” Pantina soothes, moving to take Baals hands in her own before pulling the girl into her lap to sit. “I’m sorry if we acted like it. I’ve just never heard of...nutrient rations. Did she say what they’re made from?”

Playing with her mother’s fingers Baal shrugged, still not completely placated before offering, “Not meat or fruits or veggies.”

She glanced up to find Coons’s face hard and distant for a moment. Not with them but almost like he was working through a difficult puzzle or considering the best plan of action. “Well...it’s possible they’re in worse off shape than we realized. Maybe they used starvation foods?”

Pantia’s soft huff wasn’t missed by Baal, “Or something sensible but simple? Hmmm ...you can make flour from tree bark you know. The Fright Zone borders the Whispering Woods doesn’t it?”

Ball scrunched her nose as she tried to imagine that. Taking planks of wood and getting the saw dust for flour. Or did they burn it and use the ashes? The imagined dull flavor and texture enough to make her throat her. The idea of eating trees, splinters and all, was enough for her to be offended on Catra’s behalf.

Coons smirked at her face, laughing when she stuck her tongue out. Then with a devilish wiggle of his eyebrows he added, “True. And you can get protein from insects. More than in most meats actually. Maybe there’s a lot of bug powder in them!”

Baal fake gagged.  _ Insects! _ Baal had only eaten one insect in her whole life as a little kid, and that had been pure instinct and impulse because she’d caught it play hunting. As soon as she had shoved it in her mouth, Baal had screamed and literally cried for help.

Patina’s exasperated glare was softened as she looked down at her and added, “Honey could be a binder and sweetener; plus, herbs and spices are technically not vegetables.”

That sounded a lot better.

“Hmm, true. Some tree needles and leaves can be eaten too, made into teas. Maybe some roots fresh from the ground?” Was Coons unabashed addition, knowing full well Baal was going to first think about soil before something like potatoes.

“It sounds awful,” Baal groaned, feeling a little sick just thinking about it. She wiggled out of her mother’s lap before stomping to wash her hands. “Yuck!”

“Sounds like the Horde,” Coons winked.

Pantina rolled her eyes. “We’ll look into okay Baal, you can give it to her as a surprise.”

And so began their joint effort to make Catra a memorable gift.

Baal had spent time with her mother out  in the woods and in town to pick up ingredients, she’d happily caught a whole jar of grasshoppers with Coons (although she’d been relieved when he revealed the bag of pre-powdered ones), and she’d also added a few drawings to show what colors made the most palatable gray colors. Pantina had reminded her that experimentation wasn’t a bad thing almost as often as she’d cajoled them both into trying the latest version, the whole process managing to grow somehow beyond their control. With autumn in full swing they’d finally declared their homemade ration bar to be both highly nutritious, meeting the daily caloric intake with as many vitamins and minerals someone could want as possible, and gray. Surprisingly the thing that had been hardest had been convincing Pantina to leave it bar shaped.

“It’s just depressing, and don’t say that’s the Horde, your jokes have worn  _ very _ thin.”

Coons had simply smiled, elbowing Baal as if they were sharing a great laugh. Not that she knew what but it was nice to be included!

“It’s for Catra, not you.” Baal had grumbled ten minutes later earning a round of laughter neither of them were willing to explain.

It turned out what was harder than making a ration bar, was Baal’s nerves over being the only one giving it to Catra. What if it was wrong? What if she didn’t like it? What if she laughed at them? It was enough to give Baal conniptions, only soothed once her mother agreed that they’d all be there to support her. The whole thing coming to a grinding halt at her insistence that it be for a special occasion.

“Well, when’s her birthday?”

It turned out no one knew. And when Baal asked, Catra’s confused, “What’s a birthday?” was really answer enough. Pantina had looked ready to cry and declared that the very next day, October 28th, was going to be her birthday party regardless. Only on explaining that her answer meant Catra had never had a birthday party or cake did Baal appreciate the severity of the issue.

All it took was waiting for Catra to come out of her room for breakfast the next day before they 

“Surprise!”

Catra stared at the three of them in surprise before looking down at the homemade ration bar. “...what?”

“We thought you might appreciate something familiar-”

“And it’s your birthday!”

“-actually we weren’t sure when you were born, so why not make today your birthday and celebrate with something special!”

Catra looked at them blankly but cautiously made her way over to sniff at the bar. “What is this?”

Baal happily took over the explanation, rather proud of herself for the idea even if she embellished a little with a few things she’d overheard the adults talking about. “You were being a sad sack teen and we thought maybe you missed some stuff from before. So we made you a ration bar. Gray just like you like it!”

Catra’s ear twitched and eyes went wide as she swallowed thickly, coughing as she covered her face. Her shoulders nearly shook as she gasped for air around the hand she’d clamped over her mouth. Clearly choked up over their thoughtfulness! “I- uh, ha! Ah-hem, it’s, heh, that is...uh, thanks.”

“Well go on then, birthday girl first.” Pantina sliced into the ration bar, serving a small portion out to Catra.

“...thanks,” Catra’s voice was creaky with emotion as she glared at the plate, with a heavy sigh she popped the whole bite in her mouth and chewed. And chewed. And chewed before her eyes lit up. “Owh, maw gawjz!”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” Pantina chided as she served the rest of the plates.

Catra swallowed heavily, tail swishing and eyes trained on the bar before holding her plate out. “More. Please? This is the best grey bar I’ve ever had!”

“You like it?” Baal asked, eyes going huge and tail swishing in excitement.

“Hell yeah I do!”

Despite how relieved and happy she was, Baal noticed there was something weird about Catra the rest of the day. Doing her best to be stealthy, she had followed the young woman as she ferreted a piece of the ration bar away; sneaking outside to hide it.

She was probably hording it for later Baal reasoned, having found several bags of jerky and dried fruit inexplicably hidden on the roof before it wasn’t a stretch. Although she tried to eavesdrop, she couldn't quite hear what Catra was saying. Curling up that night and drifting on the edge of sleep, she couldn’t help but think that while she was glad Catra seemed happy, she couldn’t understand why anyone would think the gray bar was adorable. That’s what she said, right? Something...something Adora….

And with that Baal fell asleep.


End file.
